Contents

Loyola's athletic program made the transition to NCAA Division I from Division II when it became a charter member of the ECAC-Metro Conference in 1981.[3] The circuit's name was changed to the Northeast Conference on August 1, 1988.[4]

The Loyola men's basketball team has a long history and has been playing since the 1908-1909 season. In all that time, the team has appeared twice, 1994, 2012 in the NCAA tournament. The team plays its games in Reitz Arena and is coached by Jimmy Patsos, who inherited a team that won one game in the season prior to his arrival. In 2007, Patsos' fourth season as head coach, the team had a record of 19 wins and 14 losses.[5] In 2012, as winners of the MAAC tournament, Loyola earned its second trip to the NCAA tournament.

The Loyola men's lacrosse team has played since 1938, with a two-year break in 1944 and 1945, winning over 400 games in that time.[6] They won its first championship in the sport, the first national title in the university's Division I history, in 2012.[7] The Loyola women's lacrosse program is fifth all-time among NCAA Division I women's lacrosse teams with 362 wins.[8]

The Loyola Men's Soccer team, coached by Mark Mettrick, has consistently proven to be one of the most successful teams in the athletic department. Since 1965, the team has suffered only four losing seasons. The team is a perennial power in the MAAC and has reached the NCAA Division I National Tournament seven times since joining Division I in 1979, including quarterfinal appearances in 1986 and 1987 and a Sweet 16 appearance in 2001. Loyola enjoyed an undefeated regular season in 2008 before being upset in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.[9] Former Greyhounds include the 2009 Major League Soccer Goalkeeper of the Year, Zach Thornton as well as many others who have played in the MLS and other professional leagues.[10]

The Loyola College Rugby Football Club is the men's rugby union team that represents Loyola College in the Mid-Atlantic Rugby Football Union.[14] The club is composed of over 50 student-athletes, alumni volunteers, and professional trainers. Founded in 1976 by a group of Loyola students, LCRFC continues to be the oldest and most active club sport at the college.[15] LCRFC and its players have gained many All-American titles and U.S. Rugby rankings.[16]

The Greyhound ruggers have also traveled abroad to play Irish teams, including teams in Limerick, Dublin, and Cork.[16] Because of fundraising and alumni support, one of the practice fields at Loyola's new intercollegiate athletic facility is to be named Sean Lugano Memorial Field in honor of a former LCRFC rugby captain who died in the September 11 attacks.[17]